The Ampulex compresso is a serious wasp! I recently did a little research on the tiny creature, and was amazed at its ability to use an ordinary cockroach for its plans of pro-creating. Here’s what happens when it’s time for the female to lay an egg:

She finds an unsuspecting cockroach to become her offspring’s host, and gives it two precise and venomous stings. The first is delivered to the mid-section, which causes the cockroaches front legs to buckle and renders it immobile for a while. This time period gives the wasp an opportunity to deliver a more precise sting to the brain.

Wasp Injects Venom

After slipping the stinger under the exoskeleton, the wasp injects venom into the spot of the cockroach’s brain that appears to control the escape reflex. Once this is accomplished, the wasp takes hold of the antennae and virtually steers the bug where she wants it to go. The destination is the wasp’s burrow, where the cockroach enters obediently.

She then lays an egg on the underside of the insect, and when the egg matures, it hatches to produce another wasp which then devours the organs of its host.1

After reading this amazing incredible account of the Ampulex compresso, I was reminded that you and I are often assailed by an evil, wasp-like enemy who wants nothing less than to manipulate and eventually destroy us. In effect a poisonous “venom” is injected into our lives, and one of the most effective for paralyzing the human mind is addiction.

Whether we’re addicted to food, narcotics, alcohol, sex, or any other toxin that the devil uses from the psychological arsenal of evil, we are often rendered powerless to perform anything less than this addiction demands.

The scriptures tell us in James 4 that if we stay close to God, we can have the power to resist and finally break the addictions that paralyze us. This divine closeness, harnessed with good education and solid counseling can bring freedom and peace to our hearts.

For many Christians, it’s time to deal with the evil “wasp” who’s been allowed to stay in control for far too long. The antidote exists, but we must claim it for ourselves.